History Main / ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman

* Ken in ''VideoGame/Persona3'' is usually considered a LowTierLetdown due to his MasterOfNone tendencies. The last Tartarus guardian, the Jotun of Grief, is immune to everything but Pierce attacks, which makes him one of the better members for the fight.

** Picture this; Zacian-Crowned, the strongest Pokémon introduces in ''Sword and Shield'' thus far. So powerful was this monster that until it was banned the unholy realm of Anything Goes (Mega Rayquaza's domain). It has a grand total of ''one'' reliable counter, and that total has not increased with the National Dex version of Anything Goes. That Pokémon? Unaware Quagsire. Berserker Blade is ''at best'' a five-hit-KO and Play Rough is three or four. Both these moves have low PP, and Quagsire can easily outlast them with Recover. It also gets STAB on Earthquake, and thanks to Unaware, Zacian cannot even power up to break through.

* A villain in ''Manga/BoboboboBobobo'' is specialized in fighting stop moving trains. Even he admits is an extremely niche skill.

* ''ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}'': The {{Trope Namer|s}'s older stories are notorious for featuring obstacles that were specifically designed to make his less than impressive abilities look useful. Future writers have generally attempted to upgrade or play up Aquaman's powers to avert this (particularly his SuperStrength), but his old ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'' appearances seemed to have a random giant octopus or artifact buried in the ocean or water planet every issue just so that he could have something to do.
** In his {{Creator/Filmation}} cartoon, Aquaman becomes an astronaut specifically so a water planet can be studied.

** Dr. Zoidberg is an abysmal physician (most of the time), but being a crustacean-looking StarfishAlien means that he has all kinds of strange tricks that come up. For example, in "Mother's Day," when Leela gets him to open a tin can with his claws. "Hooray! I'm useful! I'm having a wonderful time!"

** In Impel Down, [[PoisonousPerson Magellan's poison]] means [[TouchOfDeath no one can even touch him]], and [[SuperToughness he's strong enough to tank most ranged attacks]]. Much to everyone's surprise, Mr. 3's [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway Wax-Wax Fruit]] allows him to [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower completely block Magellan's poison]], which Luffy exploits by encasing his limbs in wax to fight Magellan to a standstill... at least until [[TheGlovesComeOff Magellan breaks out a poison so toxic it can even infect inorganic matter]].

** Also in the Dressrosa arc, Sugar has woken up after having the scare of her life, and is preparing to turn Luffy and Law (both of whom have never met her before) into [[UnPerson toys]] right as they are preparing to fight [[ArcVillain Doflamingo]]. The only one who notices this is [[SuperSenses Viola]], who is half a country away and unable to warn them in time. Instead, she warns [[RuleOfThree Usopp]], who with Viola's assistance snipes a perfect shot that makes Sugar pass out again. Bonus points because Usopp's NightmareFace from eating the [[BlazingInfernoHellfireSauce Tatababasco]] grape is the reason Sugar passed out the first time, and he shoots a doll in its likeness towards her position.

** '[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureSteelBallRun Steel Ball Run]]' has a more literal example in Blackmore's Stand, Catch the Rainbow, which has enough versatility and power to be among the most dangerous Stands in the series... but ''only'' if it's raining out. If it isn't raining, it does nothing at all.

** In Enies Lobby, Spandam is leading Robin to the ship which will take her to Marineford, but Luffy is stuck fighting Rob Lucci and the rest of the Strawhats are on the other side of a wide channel. The only person who can delay Spandam until Franky arrives is Usopp, who proceeds to snipe Spandam's Marines.

** Rollers are capable of running into opponents to instantly splat them[[note]], except for the Carbon Roller and Big Swig Roller[[/note]], but a competent player can easily backpedal while firing at the roller-wielder, making this maneuver very hard to pull off, and often not worth the trouble. However, Salmonids don't think to do that, and thus rollers become an effective tool for mopping up Lesser Salmonids. Of particular note is the Dynamo Roller, whose rolling speed is the slowest of all, making it very hard to squish a player while rolling. However, it's the only kind of roller that can bowl over a [[GiantMook Cohock]] in one hit, and can quickly make mincemeat of [[MetalSlime Goldies]] in a Goldie Seeking wave. Additionally, any kind of roller is a huge boon for Rush waves, where the frenzied Chum ZergRush can be flattened beneath any roller's column. They also shine in Griller waves; while they're not really useful against the Griller itself, they will crush the perpetual flow of [[MiniMook Smallfries]], thus enabling your team to fire upon the Griller itself in peace.

* ''ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}'': The {{Trope Namer|s}} is Characters/{{Aquaman|TheCharacter}}, whose older stories were notorious for featuring obstacles that were specifically designed to make his less than impressive abilities look useful. Future writers have had to substantially upgrade or play up Aquaman's powers just to try to avert this (generally by playing up his SuperStrength), but his old ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'' appearances seemed to have a random giant octopus or artifact buried in the ocean or water planet every issue just so that he could have something to do.

* The {{Trope Namer|s}} is ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}, whose older stories were notorious for featuring obstacles that were specifically designed to make his less than impressive abilities look useful. Future writers have had to substantially upgrade or play up Aquaman's powers just to try to avert this (generally by playing up his SuperStrength), but his old ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'' appearances seemed to have a random giant octopus or artifact buried in the ocean or water planet every issue just so that he could have something to do.

* ''ComicBook/{{Chew}}'' involves a detective who gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats. Fortunately, he works for the FDA, and thus encounters a lot of food-related crimes. And since he can eat things besides food, he's quite useful to other agencies too.
* The comic ''ComicBook/XMenLegacy'' was a particularly egregious abuser of this trope for a stretch of issues: It seemed like every single crisis could only be solved by two peoples' powers at once, or one person's power with another person's knowledge. Good thing [[Characters/MarvelComicsRogue Rogue]]'s power is to absorb the powers, skills, and attributes of anyone she touches. It got to seem like less of a team than a bank of power donors and one person who ever actually does anything, blurring the line between this trope and PlotTailoredToTheParty... This Looks Like a Job For Aquaman Tailored to the Party?
* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'':
** Before she got her [[ImaginationBasedSuperpower incredibly versatile]] [[BarrierWarrior force fields]], the Invisible Woman (then Invisible Girl) was often subject to this because her only power was {{Invisibility}}, so the team was put into situations where stealth was required so her power could come off as being useful.
** While Namor the Submariner from their RoguesGallery had ''some'' useful abilities on land (flight and super strength), he generally needed to spend some time in the water to keep them optimal. In one early comic where [[Characters/MarvelComicsDoctorDoom Doctor Doom]] teamed up with him to try to eliminate the Fantastic Four, only to betray him along with them (since Doctor Doom wanted no super-powered competition from the Submariner either), Namor was only able to power up enough to pull everyone's fat out of the fire because the Fantastic Four happened to have a big tank of water handy in their building for him.
* As blogger Chris Sims [[http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/12/28/ask-chris-134-the-dubious-continuity-of-rudolphs-shiny-new-y/ points out]] (with a reference to ''Knight Boat'', no less), DC's annual ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' comic ran on this trope.
* In his first appearance in ''ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel'', Barbecue the firefighter is disdained by Shipwreck, who doesn't see the point in a combat unit having a fireman attached to it. Shortly afterward, Barbecue justifies his position with the team by ably dealing with several fires caused by a Cobra surprise attack.
* The number of villains who think that it's a good idea to put [[ComicBook/NewGods Mister Miracle]] in [[BondVillainStupidity some elaborate deathtrap]] is pretty astonishing, given that his primary selling point is being the universe's greatest escape artist. You'd think sooner or later someone would come up with a plan that did ''not'' involve confining him in something he was sure to escape from.
* In an issue of ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendsForever'' Thestra is a pony with a unique and highly unusual (even for MLP standards) ability of [[spoiler:making skin and muscles invisible. This skill turns out to be perfect and extremely convenient to fight a [[MonsteroftheWeek giant flying orca made entirely of mirrors]] that showed up out of ''nowhere.'' Thanks to this encounter, Thestra is convinced that her talent can be useful, though it ended up being a BrokenAesop - ''that'' level of contrivance being required to make it seem useful is Exhibit A for the idea of it being use''less.'' It's been pointed out by fans that it ''would'' be of great use in medicine]].
* ComicBook/MoonKnight is at full power during the full moon, due to his powers having come from a moon god. Usually, DependingOnTheWriter it makes him slightly below, the same level, or slightly above [[Characters/MarvelComicsSteveRogers Captain America]]. During his stint as a ComicBook/{{West Coast Avenger|s}}, they entered a pocket dimension to fight a villain, but he easily repelled both ComicBook/IronMan and ComicBook/WonderMan together. Then the night fell, revealing '''''several thousand full moons'''''. Cue Moon Knight going OneWingedAngel and beating the tar out of the villain.
* An arc of ''ComicBook/MegaManArchieComics'' dealt with an {{EMP}} disabling most of the world's technology, including the friendlier Robot Masters and Mega Man himself. This meant that Plant Man, mostly seen as one of the lamer Robot Masters due to his flower motif and weak weaponry, got ADayInTheLimelight: it turns out he actually really is part plant, and therefore part-organic, making him resistant to the EMP.
* "And There Shall Come... A Champion!", the issue of ''Marvel Two-In-One'' that introduced the Champion of the Universe, does this for Characters/TheThing. His SuperStrength and rocky skin are by no means underpowered, but in the pantheon of Marvel's heavyweights, he's always been quite a distance from the top. But in his quest to face the WorldsStrongestMan, the Champion refuses to fight anyone who cannot match him in the ring as a boxer. As it turns out, all the other really strong characters out there lack the discipline to make decent boxers ([[Characters/IncredibleHulkBruceBanner The Incredible Hulk]], ComicBook/WonderMan, Doc Samson, ComicBook/SubMariner), don't have the raw durability or determination to slug it out ([[Characters/XMen70sMembers Colossus]], Sasquatch), or have weaknesses preventing them from boxing fairly ([[Characters/TheMightyThorThorOdinson Thor]]). This leaves Ben Grimm, who has long been established as [[StrongAndSkilled an experienced boxer]] who [[HeroicWillpower refuses to give up]], as the only character in his weight class capable of fighting the Champion and going the distance long enough to convince the guy to back off.
* Cypher, of the ''ComicBook/NewMutants'', had his powers being to [[{{Omniglot}} know any language]]. Nowadays, he's a big HeartIsAnAwesomePower recipient, due to the broadness of "language" being extrapolated into more versatile tricks, but the writers of the original run favored this trope much more heavily: every other issue would have some visit to a foreign country or alien conqueror or long-lost hidden code for him to unravel. What made this one conspicuous was that pretty much every other superhero comic treats language barriers as a nonissue. Any other story would just casually [[HandWave reveal that the hero is bilingual]], use TranslatorMicrobes, or show AliensSpeakingEnglish, which made it seem like it was just the New Mutants who had the bad luck to keep running into monolinguals.

* Subverted in ''ComicBook/NewSuperMan''. The Justice League of China is made up of imitations of the American heroes such as Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman of China, created by Dr. Omen to have similar powers. When investigating a scientist, the man panics and sends out an enormous [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiangliu xiangliu]] sea serpent.
-->'''Superman of China:''' A giant sea monster! Shouldn't we call the Aquaman of China?!
-->'''Wonder Woman of China:''' There is no Aquaman of China.
-->'''Batman of China:''' Dr. Omen didn't see the point.

* Before he was given his signature "all the powers of Superman but only one at a time" deal, Ultra Boy of the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes only had the power of "Penetra-Vision" ([[AccidentalInnuendo hee]]), which worked the same as Superman's "vision" powers (EyeBeams, XRayVision, telescopic/microscopic vision, etc), except that unlike Superman, his vision could penetrate lead. Cue Ultra Boy being confronted by people firing lead bullets, falling lead-lined boulders, and killer robots made of lead. Even after, this is how he dodges the Legion's "[[SuperheroSpeciation no two people with the same power]]" clause; technically, his only unique power is being able to see through lead.
* The anti-hero ComicBook/MoonKnight is at full power during the full moon, due to his powers having come from a moon god. Usually, DependingOnTheWriter it makes him slightly below, the same level, or slightly above [[Characters/MarvelComicsSteveRogers Captain America]]. During his stint as a ComicBook/{{West Coast Avenger|s}}, they entered a pocket dimension to fight a villain, but he easily repelled both ComicBook/IronMan and ComicBook/WonderMan together. Then the night fell, revealing '''''several thousand full moons'''''. Cue Moon Knight going OneWingedAngel and beating the tar out of the villain.

* In ''Literature/KonoSuba'', despite being a PhysicalGoddess, Aqua is almost useless; she's [[TheGodsMustBeLazy lazy]]], [[LeeroyJenkins impulsive]], and [[TooDumbToLive dumb]], and her divine powers cause more trouble than they're worth. So she is overjoyed when she finds a quest on the guild job board that perfectly matches her skill set: purifying a corrupted lake.

* While there are lots of techniques and skills that can fit in ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'', none is more blatant than Sesshomaru's [[HealingShiv Tenseiga]], the brother sword to Inuyasha's [[SwissArmyWeapon Tetsusaiga]]. Inverse to the Tetsusaiga that can slay 100 demons with one sweep, the Tenseiga can revive 100 beings with one sweep. While the base ability only rarely gets used in the series and the sword itself can't even cut, the characters are quick to realize that [[ReviveKillsZombie as a sword of healing and life, it's actually quite deadly when used against the un-dead and malevolent spirits]] which, while still a rare situation, has come up frequently enough to justify Sesshomaru holding onto it.
* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', Winry Rockwell's only real skill is working on automail, so she's only ever useful when Edward needs his automail limbs repaired, upgraded, or replaced. Fortunately for her, this happens numerous times throughout the series, ensuring she at least occasionally has a productive role in the story.
* In ''Literature/KonoSuba'', despite being a goddess, Aqua is almost useless; she's lazy, impulsive, and dumb, and her divine powers cause more trouble than they're worth. So she is overjoyed when she finds a quest on the guild job board that perfectly matches her skill set: Purifying a corrupted lake.
* In the spinoff crossover ''Anime/IsekaiQuartet'', Aqua shows exactly how dangerous she is to undead: with one cast of TurnUndead, a low-level spell, she makes [[InvincibleHero Ainz Ooal Gown]] shout in pain, and causes Shalltear (a vampire) to pass out just from being nearby.
* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'': Ash's Pidove is the [[ComMons Unova regional bird]], [[DemotedToExtra not used often]], and isn't very smart. She also happens to be female, meaning that she's the only one on Ash's team not affected by Snivy's [[EmotionBomb Attract]]. This allowed her to fight Snivy and let Ash catch her. Funnily enough, [[SlidingScaleOfGameplayAndStoryIntegration a regular Trainer probably would've used Pidove anyway]] due to the {{Elemental Rock Paper Scissors}}.
* In ''Manga/TokyoMewMew'', while Mew Lettuce's powers are less useful than those of the other Mews, she is useful on a few occasions. In one filler episode, she, being a bookworm, can resist falling asleep as a Chimera Anima made from a book reads aloud, and can counterattack. In another, when the Mews get bound in silk by a spider-like Chimera Anima, she can still use her castanets, which only require her fingers, and defeats the monster.

* In ''Anime/SDGundamForce'', the Gundivers were only good for underwater missions, and as such were only useful whenever something important fell into the sea. By the final battle of the series they were upgraded with flight capabilities, becoming the Gunchoppers.

* In ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', Crow's Black-Winged Dragon [[CCGImportanceDissonance (though hyped up a fair bit)]] is considered to be by far the weakest Signer Dragon by players in the actual game, because its only effect is being able to stop Burn damage - a strategy that is niche at best in real life, and it's not even especially good at it. However, nearly every time it appeared in the anime, the opponent played a deck that utilized Burn in some capacity, and the arc after he got it featured the card Speed World 2 (which had a Burn effect) in almost every Duel.
* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
** In Enies Lobby, Spandam is leading Robin to the ship which will take her to Marineford, but Luffy is stuck fighting Rob Lucci and the rest of the Strawhats are on the other side of a wide channel. The only person who can delay Spandam until Franky arrives is Usopp, who proceeds to snipe Spandam's Marines.
** In Thriller Bark, Perona ate the Hollow-Hollow Fruit, which allows her to generate ghosts that cause whoever touches them to become extremely negative and emotionally hollow. This power has been shown to bring down even the 'Monster Trio' of the Straw Hats, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji. Usopp, on the other hand, is so pessimistic that the ghosts have no effect on him, and in fact contact causes ''Perona'' to become negative!
** In the Dressrosa Arc, the situation of the Funk Brothers is pretty much tailor-made to make Kelly Funk's Jacket Jacket Fruit powers actually useful. Kelly can transform himself into full-body jacket that, when worn, allows him to take over the wearer's body, though that method makes it unlikely for him to take over someone who wasn't already willing. Bobby Funk is inexplicably strong and durable but has no fighting ability, and Kelly Funk is extremely aggressive but also relatively weak, with that combination allowing Kelly's ability to take over his brother's body to make them more formidable that way rather than simply fighting separately.
* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
** In [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders part 3]], Iggy is called in as the SixthRanger of the team late in the story. Iggy's Stand, The Fool, allows him to control sand. Normally, this would be a very situational power since it's useless when there's no sand around, but given how the protagonists' destination is in Egypt, he's much more powerful in the desert environment.
** [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind Part 5]] has Squalo’s Stand, Clash, a ThreateningShark that can teleport from one body of liquid to another, sizeshifting to match. This would limit his effectiveness if he didn’t fight Bucciarati’s crew in Venice, where there are plenty of large bodies of water to unleash his full potential.
** [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Part 6]] has Survivor, which was said to be the weakest, least useful stand in existence by [[GreaterScopeVillain Dio]] and [[AvengingTheVillain Pucci]]. [[HatePlague Its power is to cause a weak electric impulse which stimulates the parts of the brain responsible for aggression]], and allowing those affected to see their opponents' weak points, turning those affected into expert, relentless fighters who attack anyone they see. The reason why it's so useless is because it affects everyone in range indiscriminately, meaning that the user's enemies become expert fighters, while his allies turn against him. The only situation where it could be useful is if you have someone you really want dead, and they're trapped somewhere with other strong fighters who could probably kill your target if a big fight started. Like say, a maximum-security prison full of dangerous criminals...
** [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureSteelBallRun Part 7]] has a more literal example in Blackmore's Stand, Catch the Rainbow, which has enough versatility and power to be among the most dangerous Stands in the series... but ''only'' if it's raining out. If it isn't raining, it does nothing at all.

* In ''Manga/CellsAtWork'', a series that [[CastOfPersonifications personifies human cells]], the chapter that introduces Eosinophil culminates with a fight against an ''Anisakis'' nematode, allowing her to show off her true skill-- her CripplingOverspecialization means that while she's not very good at fighting bacteria or viruses, which are more common invaders to the human body, she makes short work of multi-cellular parasites. Seeing as how the series is based on medical science, this carries over to real life as well.

* ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'':
** Mumen Rider is a C-Class hero who has all the heroic drive in the world, but lacks any actual powers besides being in decent shape and owning a bicycle. Not peak physical shape, just on the level of a guy who bikes everywhere, and not a CoolBike, a regular bike. He'd be stretching the definition to even qualify for BadassNormal status. But that sheer inexhaustible HeroicResolve ultimately proves critical in [[HoldTheLine Holding The Line]] against the Sea King, preventing him from massacring a shelter full of bystanders until Saitama can arrive.
** King's only known skill is to be able to play many video games at a world-champion level. This doesn't see any use as a superhero--at least until [[SmallNameBigEgo Fubuki]] attempts to forcibly recruit all of the main characters into her gang unless they can beat them in a fight. Knowing that her group have no chance in an actual brawl against [[InvincibleHero Saitama]], [[FakeUltimateHero King]], [[OldMaster Bang]] and [[ArmCannon Genos]], she makes it a ''video-game fight'', banking on the fact that she has a professional gamer in her squad. Saitama has played the game and could beat a few of his adversaries but is ultimately overcome. Most of the others have never touched a video game in their lives and, despite their colossal powers, are quickly defeated. Up steps King, who proceeds to demolish all of Hellish Blizzard's other goons - including the pro - all by himself and without breaking a sweat. This comes up again in an OVA, when King demolishes [[HeroKiller Garou]] in a VR fighting game simulation, solidifying his legendary status as the [[WorldsStrongestMan World's Strongest Man]].

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'':
** Froppy is a hero with all the powers of a frog. While she has the ability to jump and use a long tongue, she is at her best in the water. When the Academy was attacked by a horde of villains, she was teleported into pool designed to replicate underwater rescue situations. Deku {{lampshade|Hanging}}d this trope, pointing out that if the villains knew what Froppy's powers were they would've teleported her somewhere without water. Later, when the students are seeking internships, Froppy went to work with the coast guard to make the best of her aquatic abilities. The other coast guard heroes also have water-related quirks, indicating that the Aquamen of this world go out and find jobs that suit their aquatic abilities.
* Subverted in ''Literature/FullMetalPanic''. When Mithril initially gets the mission to infiltrate a Japanese highschool to covertly monitor and protect a seemingly OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent, they quickly remember that one of their soldiers is a sixteen-year-old Japanese boy and move to exploit this convenience immediately. So immediately, in fact, that they forget [[ChildSoldiers just]] [[SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining what]] [[CrazySurvivalist sort]] [[ConditionedToAcceptHorror of]] [[ShellShockedVeteran background]] produces a sixteen-year old combat savant and don't realize how absolutely unsuitable he is for the mission until he comes back from his first day of school dragging the folding chair Kaname had handcuffed him to.
* ''Manga/BlackClover'':
** Although Dark Magic is far from being useless, it's slow to cast and Yami usually uses it more as a supplement for his swordsmanship. However, because the attribute is the polar opposite of light, it becomes highly effective when he fights against Licht, with his magic absorbing his spells by creating small black holes. It's also highly effective against devils due to its power to affect the underworld. His magic is very useful in the fight against Zagred, whose Word Soul Magic can't block it, and when the Black Bulls fight Dante.
** AntiMagic is recognized in-universe as an [[WrongContextMagic overly broken]] power that allows a simple peon like Asta to stand a chance against mages with years of training and experience. But amusingly, [[spoiler:Liebe]] comes to realize that it's absolutely pointless against Asta himself, due to him being deprived of magic to begin with, and relying solely on his swordsmanship, ki-reading and guts.
* ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'': For the big team-up in [[Anime/GirlsUndPanzerDerFilm the movie]], the constantly strapped for cash Anzio team show up in a Carro Veloce 33 tankette. Their three-man team can barely fit in the two-seater machine, it has guns that can't stand up to any kind of armor, and everyone else brought actual tanks that they can't do anything to. The closest they get to a cool moment happens when their ride gets flipped upside-down and [[{{Ramprovisation}} used as a ramp by another tank]]. But when the FinalBattle ends up taking place in an empty amusement park, they become the MVP of the coalition, running a spectacularly effective intel and recon operation after it turns out the [=CV33=] is small enough to fit on the roller coaster tracks without attracting too much attention.

** Rollers are capable of running into opponents to instantly splat them[[note]], except for the Carbon Roller and Big Swig Roller[[/note]], but a competent player can easily backpedal while firing at the roller-wielder, making this maneuver very hard to pull off, and often not worth the trouble. However, Salmonids don't think to do that, and thus rollers become an effective tool for mopping up Lesser Salmonids. Of particular note is the Dynamo Roller, whose rolling speed is the slowest of all, making it very hard to squish a player while rolling. However, it's the only kind of roller that can bowl over a [[GiantMook Cohock]] in one hit, and can quickly make mincemeat of [[MetalSlime Goldies]]. Additionally, any kind of roller is a huge boon for Rush waves, where the frenzied Chum ZergRush can be flattened beneath any roller's column. They also shine in Griller waves; while they're not really useful against the Griller itself, they will crush the perpetual flow of [[MiniMook Smallfries]], thus enabling your team to fire upon the Griller itself in peace.

Take ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}, for instance, since he mainly swims and talks to fish. But wait... the villain's [[CripplingOverspecialization doomsday machine is powered by telepathically controllable sea plankton]]? Wow, this guy's a great addition to the team!

The opposite is KryptoniteIsEverywhere, when a hero's obscure weakness comes up much more frequently than would intuitively make sense, rather than a hero's obscure strength. Compare HighlySpecificCounterplay, which only counters a specific thing or a small number of specific things, and HeartIsAnAwesomePower, when the power seems uselessly specific but turns out to be useful in many situations. Compare and contrast WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway, HandyShortcoming, LethalJokeCharacter, and NotCompletelyUseless.

* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'':
** Chain Burn is a deck based on foregoing a lot of traditional strategies in favor of simply stacking up on heavy-duty direct damage cards like Chain Strike, Just Desserts, and Secret Barrel and attempting to slice chunks out of the opponent's LP. Most of the time, the deck is considered more annoying than effective, as while it can steal games, it lacks any kind of field presence and is reliant on drawing a lot of cards just to keep its damage coming. However, in early 2017, the deck became famous for having a great matchup against Zoodiacs, of all things, generally considered one of the best decks in history. This is because Zoodiac is a deck that generally focuses on building up an extensive field (which meant cards like Secret Barrel and Balance of Judgment, which become more effective if the opponent controls more cards, prove far more potent), use of LP as a cost (obviously problematic against a deck that focused on attacking LP above all else) and interrupting the opponent's strategy through the effect of Drident to snipe cards mid-combo (Chain Burn doesn't really use combos that can be interrupted like this)--effectively, Chain Burn turned Zoodiac's strong points into weak points.
** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Mushroom_Man_2 Mushroom Man #2]] is a card with poor stats that lets you pay LP at the end of your turn to switch control of it to your opponent, while dealing a small amount of LP damage to its controller at the start of each turn. Though the intention was that it be a [[PoisonMushroom white elephant]] where players would pass it back and forth, it basically amounted to giving your opponent a free card and taking more damage than you dealt, making it useless even on release. However, in 2022, the card started seeing play as a natural counter to, of all things, Kashtira, generally regarded as one of the most overpowered decks in the game's history. This is because most main-deck Kashtiras require you to control [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Kashtira_Unicorn no monsters]] or [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Kashtira_Riseheart another Kashtira]] to be Special Summoned, meaning that getting a monster onto their field could potentially lock their plays. The typical counterplay to this was to Normal Summon Riseheart and then use the monster your opponent gave you to summon [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Donner,_Dagger_Fur_Hire Donner]], which can then get rid of itself and leave your field clear while taking an opponent's monster with it--but Donner requires two monsters with different types, and by complete coincidence, Riseheart and Mushroom Man #2 are the same type. And for a cherry on top, [[MirrorMatch if you were playing Kashtira yourself]], then Mushroom Man's damaging effect could trigger the effect of your own [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Kashtira_Unicorn Kashtira Unicorn.]]

* In ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'', Chain Burn is a deck based on foregoing a lot of traditional strategies in favor of simply stacking up on heavy-duty direct damage cards like Chain Strike, Just Desserts, and Secret Barrel and attempting to slice chunks out of the opponent's LP. Most of the time, the deck is considered more annoying than effective, as while it can steal games, it lacks any kind of field presence and is reliant on drawing a lot of cards just to keep its damage coming. However, in early 2017, the deck became famous for having a great matchup against Zoodiacs, of all things, generally considered one of the best decks in history. This is because Zoodiac was a deck that generally focused heavily on building up an extensive field (which meant cards like Secret Barrel and Balance of Judgment, which become more effective if the opponent controls more cards, became far more potent), use of LP as a cost (obviously problematic against a deck that focused on attacking LP above all else) and interrupting the opponent's strategy through the effect of Drident to snipe cards mid-combo (Chain Burn doesn't really use combos that can be interrupted like this)--effectively, Chain Burn turned Zoodiac's strong points into weak points.

* In tabletop roleplaying games like ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', this can be a tough balancing act. Some abilities are so specific that the DM has to go out of their way to include it into the game, and not doing so makes the player feel like their character has a bunch of useless skills. On the other hand, putting scenarios which utilize these skills can feel so contrived and pandering that the result can feel like the best way to overcome that particular challenge is by ''not playing a character of that class in the first place''. For example, if a DM only places traps into their game when there's a Rogue in the party, the solution is for there to not be a Rogue in the party and have someone else useful in more situations instead (of course, a good solution for the DM is to have traps in the game regardless so the PCs will ''wish'' they had a Rogue, but possibly putting more traps in if they have one). The worst offender for this issue is probably the Ranger, who has a whole plethora of skills for challenges in the party (tracking creatures long distances, gathering food, obscuring your own tracks to keep others from following you, managing the weather and travel, etc.) that likely won't come up in games that aren't heavily simulationist. Wizards of the Coast made an attempt to correct this with Tasha's Cauldron of Everything that broadened the Ranger's skills to more generally applicable ones like standard fighting and movement.